Searching for a Girl
by EireannisInnocent
Summary: AU SakuxMulti: Five powerful men in New York realize over a conversation in a cafe, that they're missing someone. So where is she now?


Searching For A Girl

In an office building in New York…

A dark haired man sat at his desk diligently typing away at his keyboard. Under his eyes were worry lines that matured his profile to being handsome instead of looking aged and weathered, as it should have been. Despite this, his eyes gave off the feeling of seeing one too many things, and dark circles from a lack of sleep outlined them. His face was framed by dark long hair that on anyone else would've made them look effeminate, but his didn't it simply added to his masculine aura as it was always pulled back into a low ponytail.

The ringing of a phone on his desk abruptly broke the stiff air surrounding his person. Normally he would have simply let it ring until his secretary answered it for him, she was a filter to prevent his fans from having the satisfaction of having their calls make it through to him and he appreciated her for that. But then he remembered with a jolt that only his younger brother and business partner had immediate phone access to his office. He calmly picked up the phone and answered it waiting for a response.

"Itachi! Itachi! Itachi! You got to come with us! I finally got everyone on a non-busy day and decided we should all met up somewhere!" Answered the annoyingly energetic voice on the other end of the line that definitely was not Sasuke.

"Naruto, how did you get access to my personal office phone line? Only Sasuke's number can bypass my secretary and she already knows what to do if you call, so you must have stolen Sasuke's cell phone, haven't you?"

"Yup." Came the all-too-happy voice of Naruto Uzumaki co-founder to a worldwide ramen business. "I stole it from his pocket while he was too busy to notice because he was running away from fan girls."

"Naruto, I am busy today. Give the phone back to Sasuke now."

"But-but-but I finally found a day where everyone was open…and we haven't seen each other all together like this since college."

"No. Anyway how did Sasuke ever agree to this?" I questioned, knowing my brother would have never willingly agreed to this.

"Argh- He didn't. I just figured I'd drag him out of here one way or another considering he's always been such a grumpy-ass." Naruto answered with a grunt or two.

"Sasuke's fighting for the phone back isn't he?" I inquired as I began to hear Sasuke's yells in the background, arguing over how Naruto should hand over his phone or face the wraith of an Uchiha.

"Tell Sasuke I'll be there and to stop ranting about how our family is so great, they're all dead except for Madara and whenever he starts ranting about an "Uchiha's wraith" he looks like a gay with a very large ego. Anyway the only person in our family to ever have an "Uchiha wraith" is Madara without his salon products."

"I heard that you little weasel!" Yelled Madara and Sasuke from the other end of the line.

"So they've gotten the phone from you…good luck surviving my insults they'll take out on you, Naruto." I hung up and took a deep breath; I probably needed a day off anyway. The company wasn't on a slow day but I was done with my work for the day and the company could handle well on its own.

I got up from my chair and prepared to leave. I grabbed a coat as I walked through my office door and gave a glance to my secretary as I passed by her desk since she already knew what to do. Even though Naruto seemed like an imbecile on the phone he had likely taken the time to organize someplace to go for us all.

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An hour later…

"So anyone know where you want to go? I didn't really plan anything out at all, I was just aiming to get us all together for once." Said Naruto, casually scratching the back of his head like he always did whenever there was a problem he didn't know how to solve.

"Naruto, I don't think I'll ever trust you further than I can throw you. To think that we had actually believed the ridiculous idea that you had actually **planned** for something is near impossible but it happened and look where its gotten us!" Yelled Sasuke while violently gesturing to the fan girl-proofed car/ limousine we were in now.

"Sasuke, I suggest you calm down or get out. You and your fits will not help smooth this situation out and we have left the company in capable hands so there's no need for us to worry at all." I said in a monotone.

"But Itachi! We-"

"Enough."

"…"

"Naruto, speaking of plans, where are the others?"

"Deidara and Sasori are driving over here together. Which might have not been such a great idea now that I think about it. Considering that they're always arguing about something art related."

"Do you ever think about things thoroughly, Naruto?" Shouted Sasuke.

"No…"

"Gah!" Sasuke jumped away from the window he was sitting next to. "WHAT THE HECK?"

"Sasuke, I believe it's Sasori and Deidara in rather poorly made disguises. It seems to me that this is their desperate attempt to avoid the fan girls."

Sasuke opened the door to let the other two into the limousine. They sat down next to me across from Naruto and Sasuke.

"Who's that guy right behind you?" Asked Sasuke.

"Who?" Deidara looked out the still open door. "Oh yeah, that was a hobo that had been following us for the last 10 blocks."

"Gah!" Sasuke slammed the door in the man's face and scooted away from the door.

"What was that? What ever happened to Sasuke Uchiha and his all mighty "Uchiha wraith"? I thought you were an Uchiha, Sasuke, or is this just an extremely desperate fan girl disguised as a hobo that you're afraid of." Mocked Deidara.

To everyone else's surprise the hobo took off his hat and wig to reveal a young and obsessive fan girl, who immediately began to beat a rapid series of hits on the window wanting inside. She seemed to froth at the mouth and looked a lot like a rabid squirrel, almost cute one moment then terrible and horrifying the next.

"Isn't she from one of our college classes?" Asked Sasori, speaking for the first time since he had arrived in the vehicle.

"Does it matter? She's still a psycho and the fact is she is flying into a rage right outside our bulletproof window. Do you realize that she's been following us for 10 blocks without attacking until just now? The only thing that's preventing her from getting into this car is the bulletproof window! I'm really glad she can't break that."

-Crack- An audible noise could be heard from the window.

We all simultaneously turned our heads to the window and saw that the rabid fan girl had called some of her friends and they were all pounding at the window. The only thing I could ever fear had happened; the bulletproof glass was being broken by multiple stalker-like **rabid** fan women on the other side of the door. And we were inside.

"So where do you want to go for lunch today?" Naruto said hurriedly, glancing at the window again and again throughout his question.

"Café!" We all said at once.

"The one by the college?"

"Yes! Now drive idiot!" Yelled Deidara. "Before these stalker-women get in here through the previously thought-to-be unbreakable windows on this car!" He finished as he accusingly glared at Sasuke and I quickly before turning around again move to another seat.

It was true we had believed that nothing short of actual heavy caliber bullets could have broken through the glass at sniper range and anything within melee range would have needed to make it past the highly trained security hidden in the passing crowd. Evidently the security hadn't thought of fan girls dressing up, as a hobo to get at us was a plausible reason to search everyone that was following us.

Naruto got into the driver's seat, hit the gas pedal and then the brake causing the car to jerk forward and stop again.

"I just realized we're in New York."

"YOU JUST REALIZED THAT YOU IDIOT? YOU"VE LIVED HERE FOR FOUR YEARS AND STILL HADN"T NOTICED THE CITY YOU LIVED IN?" Shouted Deidara in one of his rages.

"No, what I mean is, we're getting nowhere in this car, it's a limousine and the traffic here is terrible, the fan girls would be able to **walk** faster than us."

"And the reason you didn't plan this out before, Naruto?" Asked Sasuke while he was silently clenching his jaw.

"New company design, I had to finish it today."

"So we run then." I calmly advised. "It really isn't all that far from where we are now. The question is how do we out run them?"

"We don't. We just duck and dodge to the best of our ability and if someone goes down a security can step in if needed, or we can just use our charms." Added Sasori.

"So we're going to run and dodge psycho people who are desperate for anything of ours including ourselves? And we expect to survive?" Asked Sasuke, looking horrified at what we had suggested.

"There's not much choice for us. Unless you wish to stay in here until that supposedly bulletproof windowpane gives out and those women find you in here and attack you, then you are welcome to do so. But otherwise the rest of us would prefer to go down fighting off the horde than sit around and wait for our doom."

"Why does that sound like a line from a videogame?" Wondered Naruto.

" Because, Naruto, every videogame in college you ever played was either about ninjas or fighting off a futuristic alien horde that wanted to take over the universe. Which includes every alien game ever made." I pointed out as I readied to step out of the car and start running as soon as I could to escape the fan girls.

"Ready…set…GO!" Yelled Naruto.

And we were out…

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At the café…

I have never run faster than that in my life except when I'm being chased by the fan girls.

I had stepped into a side alley as the rest were still running away from the fan girls; they didn't notice much of a change. The others probably assumed I was taken down and the girls…well the girls were so empty headed they wouldn't have noticed any of us gone until the last two of us were still being chased. I had made it to the café safely and immediately noticed I was the first there.

"How can I help you today?" Asked a smiling waitress, whom I recognized from when we used to come here everyday after college. She already knew about our problem with the fan girls and still unsurprisingly recognized us after a few years.

"I'll just have a wet cappuccino."

"Like always, eh?" She responded with a smile. " I remember when the rest of you used to come in here everyday. All you boys in this tiny restaurant…you always had so many girls standing outside the windows waiting for you to come outside."

There was a girl too…

"Ah, I remember now…there was a girl too…She had the strangest appearance but I can't remember her name for the life of me…and it was such a fitting name for such a pretty girl."

"Haruno Sakura."

"That was her name! I knew it had something to do with spring…where are the others?"

The bell at the door rang again as a beaten Sasori assisted a limping Deidara into the café, followed closely by the rare sight of a tired Naruto. They were all panting and slowly worked their way over to the table where I was sitting at.

Naruto looked up and suddenly became energetic again, this time with disbelief.

He shouted accusingly and directed his finger towards myself sipping my fresh cappuccino that had just been delivered to my table by another waitress.

"How the heck did you escape those fan girls without a single freaking scratch on you? While the rest of us are beaten, bruised and tired from running from those demon women! It's impossible!"

"Simple, I stepped into a side alley."

"That never works!"

"You are simply too loud Naruto. You couldn't be hidden in a soundproof box even if you wanted to."

"Hey, that's insulting! I can be quiet if I want to!"

"You are contradicting yourself even now."

"What does that mean?"

"You're yelling, and still trying to prove that you can be quiet."

"Itachi's right, Naruto." Added Sasori.

"Where's Sasuke?" Asked Naruto after a moment of looking around the room and not finding his best friend.

"He was the last to try and escape. The fan girls finally started to notice we were disappearing after I left." Answered Deidara. "They seemed to remember how to count and realized there were only two people left and so they split up. But still the majority of the group stayed with Sasuke. This is one of the only times I prefer having slightly less fangirls than Sasuke and I'll never be jealous of him for that."

The bell at the door rang again as yet Sasuke collapsed inside, and fell to the floor face down. Naruto rushed over to help but was smacked away as Sasuke's naturally occurring stubbornness was revealed. Sasuke began to struggle to get himself off the floor, despite Naruto's repeated offerings for help. After a few minutes he eventually got up and limped to the table and slumped into a chair.

"So what happened to you?" Asked Deidara curious to how bad the fan girls had gotten Sasuke.

"They were everywhere…we lost the guards awhile back…they had me cornered…in a shady alley…there weren't any witnesses…but they had tranquilizers… it was like a date-rape nightmare."

"That sounds about normal."

"I had to double back and run straight through it all to get away. They got a few hairs, some blood, and collar off my t-shirt." He said, indicating to where his shirt was hanging off his neck. "I think they had drugs with them, or in their nail polish or something…because all their manicured fingernail scratches are going numb…I swear they were going to drug me."

"I've seen worse."

"…I don't even want to hear it…"

"This is almost like old times…" Commented Naruto. "Except we're missing someone…"

"Sakura…"

"I wonder where she is right now…"

"We left college early…we all only got our Masters in Business and Management and went on to inherit our family's businesses. She, on the other hand, went on to get a Doctor of Medicine for another two years. So we had no choice but to leave, because we had to leave to continue our parents' businesses. Sakura had to get around on her intelligence alone compared to us, we had money and intelligence which offered us a vast amount of oppurtunites." I said.

"We always offered to help her financially if she ever needed it. She knew she could have always come to us for any help she needed and we would gladly be there for her no matter what." Argued Naruto.

"But remember…Sakura has never believed in accepting help from others, that's how she got into college with us in the first place, she had no money except for her multiple scholarships, all of which she won in competitions and such."

"But she always helped us out when she could have been working on her own stuff to make it to the top placement in the university."

"She was kind that way, meaning she would be perfect for a doctor. She happily gave up her own time to offer help to those she believed needed more, which is ironic seeing as we're all "rich jerks" as she said in the first place. We all could have easily afforded tutors to help us and have them arrange their schedules for us but she helped all of us as best she could."

"I wish she was here." Sadly added Naruto.

"She could have been if we hadn't broken our promise to her. To always keep in touch." I added.

"Well I'm sure she has things of her own to do, seeing as of last year she graduated from college." Came Sasori's impatient excuse towards why it was okay to loose contact with Sakura.

"Yes, we have things to do ourselves, such as running our businesses and ordering masses of people around, but here we are just talking among ourselves with nothing to do. All we can say we have accomplished today is being mauled by hormone-crazed women who would do anything to get in our pants for a second. Now imagine what sort of time Sakura has on her hands to do something like this. She doesn't, because she doesn't have a safety net of family inheritance to fall back on, she has to work for her money and has no other choice but to do so. We on the other hand can choose to retire at any time and still live out our lives in the laps of luxury for the next two to three generations more."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"If ever does that she would likely fall into debt. She's not extremely poor but she certainly can't afford our level of luxury. Remember how amazed she was by our house sizes?"

"Yeah, she was dazed by what we thought were the simplest of things." Added Deidara.

"She lived her life rather simple compared to ours, where we were raised on the laps of luxury in hopes of bringing about a worthy business owner for our family names. She was raised with children's games and no friends or siblings and we were raised with silver spoons and hired bodyguards for companions."

"She was unique compared to our world…" Commented Sasori.

"She showed us how to appreciate things given to us and became an important part of all of our lives. Sakura taught Sasuke how to lower his pride, she temporarily created a compromise for Deidara and Sasori, and she taught me that I can be selfish once in a while."

"Hmph." Sasuke grunted, hopelessly denying the fact that he had once been an egotistical boy.

"Hmm…" Deidara stared off into space likely thinking of how else Sakura had changed him.

"Hn…" Sasori sighed as he stared intently at a wall likely imagining what else he could have done for Sakura.

I was left to myself to ponder where Sakura was right now, I could see her happily working away at a hospital or maybe just working hard to get by. There were so many situations she could be in right now and we wouldn't know because we had simply forgotten her.

"Hey, why don't we just try to find her?" Suggested Naruto.

"Naruto, you do realize you're suggesting we find a way to sift through 304,059,724 people minus the six of us to find one pink haired green eyed person?" Asked Sasori.

"How many pink haired women can there be in the U.S.?" Asked Naruto.

"Not many but we certainly wouldn't be able to find her that easily. Well easily or legally is more of the question…" Added Sasuke. "Illegally is always easier and legally isn't going to be considered stalking."

"Oh are you wondering about where Sakura is?" The waitress from earlier had evidently overheard our conversation and was offering to help us. "I don't really know where she is right now but I know her friends know where she is."

"You have her friends' numbers right now?" Asked Naruto in amazement.

"Yup, right here on my cell phone. You can use it if you want."

"Thank you." I answered and accepted the cell phone offered to me.

"_Hello?" _Answered a feminine voice from the other end of the line._ "Who is this?"_

"I am Uchiha Itachi. I would like to be able to ask you something about someone I consider to be very important to me."

"_Uchiha, as in one of the Uchiha brothers? One of the men who run the Uchiha police force together?" _She asked, sounding shocked.

"The one and only."

"_How can I help you, Mr. Uchiha? Did you just call me for a date or do you need to know something about someone?"_

"I'd like to know where Sakura Haruno is."

"_Sakura? Why do you need to know where she is? Did she get in some sort of trouble with your police force?"_

"No. Sakura is not in trouble with the law. We just happen to be looking for her."

"_Who is "we"?"_

"Some old friends of hers…we lost contact a long time ago and we hoped to see her again. I am just asking a favor of you- Miss?"

"_Ino Yamanaka, please just call me Ino."_

"Thank you. Miss Ino, I am simply asking a favor of you, do not feel influenced by the fact that I am part of the police force, or that I am one of the heads of the entire city's police force or even the idea that I have contacts with very politically powerful people."

I could hear a muffled gulp from the other end of the line.

"_We can get her here in five minutes. Just come to the Yamanaka's Coffee Shop in the main square near the mall. Goodbye."_

"We are to go to the Yamanaka Coffee Shop to see Sakura." I said simply after hanging up and handing the phone back to the waitress.

"Really?" Asked an excited Naruto.

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Sakura PoV

At the Yamanaka Coffee Shop

"What are you doing, Ino?" I asked, since I didn't know because a _certain_ person had burst into my apartment saying something about bringing me to the coffee shop or else. I hadn't really figured out what the "or else" was yet. All I knew was that I was letting myself be blindly guided into the coffee shop since I smelled the coffee beans being ground and the bell from the door ringing.

"You have to be at the coffee shop for this one, forehead. I've promised someone." Ino replied without explaining much and whipped the blindfold off my eyes to reveal a table full of my friends from around my apartment.

Directly in front of me was Temari, her hair pulled back into her 4 ponytails as usual and she stared straight ahead at me. To the left of her, my right was Tenten her light brown hair pulled back into her twin odango buns. She happily looked up at me and then continued to drink her tea. To the right of Temari, sat Hinata, she sat quietly and fumbled with the necklace Kiba, her boyfriend, gave her. She looked up to give me a look of encouragement, which left me feeling suspicious.

"Ino…" I said warningly. "I feel as if you're all here to encourage me before I go off to battle, this does not make me feel very secure. Because if this is another one of your plans to set me up on a date with a man, it isn't going to work. I am already starting to work on my mother's gambling debts and I do not need your insistence on finding a man for me. I will do it on my own!" I turned around to face Ino and saw she wasn't there anymore.

I turned back to the table to face the others. "Okay where did Ino go?"

They all gaped back at me, their eyes wide and focused on something behind me. It was something I had seen in victims of shock back at the hospital many times, it was usually because of pain or seeing someone die or become severely injured in front of them. Sometimes even because of fear, but I assumed there wasn't anything for them to fear that was directly behind me. So I turned to find out what it was.

I immediately bumped into a very masculine chest and bounced off as if I was nothing. I looked up and saw a very familiar face, Itachi.

"Itachi? What are you doing here? Don't you have a company to run or fan-girls to run from?" I asked calmly, seeming to be completely unaffected by the fact that some old friends of mine had found me, when I in fact wasn't.

"Well, Sakura, as we came in we couldn't help but hear that you were dealing with some sort of debt?" Asked Itachi as he stared at me with his charcoal-gray eyes silently asking _why didn't I ask for help_.

Itachi walked behind me blocking me from leaving and more of the guys that I hung out with in college walked into the room. Naruto with his everlasting energy and happiness, looked worried since he had probably heard about the debt problem too. Sasuke silently stood there his eyes piercing and focused but still caring. Sasori stood next to Sasuke, looking tired but somewhat relieved by something. Deidara completed the circle around me and stood there with a lopsided grin, his way of trying to assure me that he would always be there.

"So why didn't you ask us for help?" Asked Sasori calmly.

"You know we all care for you right?" Added Naruto.

"So why couldn't you swallow your huge sense of pride and understand that you can't do it all alone?" Asked Sasuke with his harsh words only showing how he cared about my situation.

"We'll always be there for you, Sakura, why can't you believe that?" Wondered Deidara.

"You could have walked into any of our company's buildings or our houses and you would've immediately been helped, by us personally." Added Itachi.

On the inside I was boiling over, on the outside my emotions had become mere trembles, until I spoke up or should I say yelled.

"That's why I think you're all rich idiots! You think your money, your status; your power can solve all **my** problems! It can't and there is no hope left for me, only for others! Why do think I became a doctor? I try and keep their hopes alive because mine is already dead!" And I rushed from the room pushing Deidara and Sasori to the side as I ran from the coffee shop.

I didn't care where I was going; I was just running to where ever I could find that was away from the coffee shop. I eventually got too tired to run and stopped to look around where I was.

I'm back here again…

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Ino PoV

Back at the Coffee Shop

_I haven't seen forehead like that in quite a long while…it's probably because today was her birthday…_

"What did we do?" Asked the blonde who I assumed was Naruto from Sakura's previous descriptions of her old friends.

I had known Sakura had always been a bit of a tomboy and that she had a bunch of male college friends but I never realized they were these people.

"It's a combination of what you've said, what today's date is, and the stress Sakura is currently under right now from her mother's debt."

"Please explain." Commanded Itachi.

"First, Sakura's mother's debt is a looming shadow for her, she can't completely pay it off, but she tries her best to keep it as low as she can. You asked why she wouldn't come to you for help, she refuses to, she has made it through her life on her own and refuses to accept help from anyone else."

"But why? Are you saying her parents won't help her? Her mother is incapable of paying her own debt off? And what's so special about today that it would make her cry?" Asked Sasori, the impatient red head as Sakura had always described him.

"Today is her birthday."

"But a birthday is supposed to be a happy occasion." Added Naruto.

"Her mother died on that day. Her father was already dead and had left them before it happened. Her mother's niece, Shizune, could do much for her except offer encouragement. Sakura got through school on scholarships, complete scholarships. Ever since she became 18, she has had to carry the burden of her own mother's gambling debts that she can't pay off. But because she doesn't believe in help for herself she pushes through it. Do you get it now? Why she refuses help from others? Because she doesn't have a family to support her or to save her when she falls."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Where is she now?"

"At the grave yard down the street. You'll find her at her mother's tombstone, it's the fifth one from the right, 13 rows down."

They all started to leave the shop, one by one they walked out the door, and began to run in the direction I had told them to.

_Really Sakura…you had all these friends and didn't notice? They all love you and would go to the ends of the earth to find you._

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Sakura's PoV

At the Graveyard

_Mother, I miss you so much. I don't even know what to do anymore. What do you want me to do?_

I heard the guys approaching me from behind. Ino had probably told them where to find me.

_Please tell me something._

"Sakura we apologize for being rude earlier, we only wanted to know what was wrong. We thought you were afraid to ask for help from us, and you were but we told you in the wrong way." Said Itachi. I could tell just by his voice without turning around.

"Is there anything you want for us to do for you?" Added Deidara.

"No…"

"Sakura you can't do this on your own, you have to have someone to help you." Insisted Sasori.

"There's no point."

"Sakura! Can't you see, we're all here willing to help you and you're still pushing us away? Can't you see we love you and always will?" Yelled Naruto at my turned back.

_Wait? What?_

I whipped around to look at all of them.

"What was that about "loving me"? I was just refusing you because Shizune just called and told me we've gotten a lawyer to help get rid of most of the debt." I said in shock at what Naruto and all the others had just confessed.

"Then why were you at the graveyard?" Asked Deidara.

"I was asking my mom what to do with this hundred dollar bill I found on the ground." I said innocently with a smile.

"Sakura!" Yelled Naruto happily as he tackled me to the ground. No one else joined him but I couldn't help but comment.

"Um… Naruto I understand you love me and all that but I prefer not to be loved while in a graveyard on top of my mother's grave, I swear she's turning in her coffin."

"Sorry…" He answered while scratching the back of his head.

Sasuke walked over and offered a hand to me to help me up.

I joined the others and we all walked off toward their car waiting outside the gates.

"So where are you guys going now?" I asked.

"To live with you."

"What?"

"Just kidding, we would never do that to do you. You're coming to live with us, that on the other hand, we would do."

"What?"

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**First oneshot completed! Whoohoo! Hope you like it, even though it's weird and cheesy….**

**Please review and read my other stories.**


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